From Novaya Gazeta Europe:
"Eli's Second Life
The story of an Israeli hostage who, on the day of his return from captivity, learned that his family had been murdered, survived hell, but found the strength to move on.
December 25, 2025 Mira Livadina
2025 was a difficult year for Israel. But still, it was a big positive. The war ended. The remaining hostages were returned alive. The bodies of almost all those killed were returned. Behind each return were human destinies, unfulfilled plans and dreams. And often, upon returning, the survivors learned the most terrible thing—that their families were no longer there. This happened to Yarden Bibas, the father of the little redheads. This happened to Eli Sharabi, who at first couldn't understand why his wife and two daughters didn't meet him from captivity. This happened to dozens of others. People who had survived two years in the tunnels of Gaza, hoping to be reunited with their loved ones, found themselves in an abyss—with all meaning completely lost. And this is the tragedy that Israel is left alone to face.
But even amidst immense grief and an ocean of despair, life cautiously triumphs over death. Not immediately—over time, through pain and emptiness. It brings miracles and hope, seemingly lost forever. "The melancholy grows stronger," wrote Elie Sharabi. "However, since my release, I choose every morning filled with life, action, and hope. We have suffered enough; we deserve a different reality. We want to begin healing."
The New Year is the perfect time to tell a story of renewed hope. This is the story of Eli Sharabi, who was able to start a new life.
"There are no children left in Be'eri..."
The action takes place on Kibbutz Be'eri in southern Israel, a model of the Soviet collective farms. It was founded by young Jewish workers in 1946, two years before Israel declared independence. All the wars with its neighbors ricocheted on the small kibbutz. Be'eri, although suffering from frequent gunfire, survived. This continued for almost 80 years—until October 7, 2023.
At that time, the kibbutz had a population of just over a thousand. On October 7, more than a hundred people—one in nine residents—were brutally murdered in Be'eri. Women and men, the elderly and children, infants.
After the Be'eri massacre and the subsequent accusations of starting the war in Gaza, a sad phrase spread throughout Israel: "There's no water to wash children in Gaza. And in Be'eri, there are no more children to wash."
Eli Sharabi arrived at Kibbutz Be'eri at the age of 14, in 1986. He was born in Tel Aviv, to Jews returned from Yemen and Morocco. But when he became a teenager, his parents decided to send him and his older brother, Yossi, to study at the kibbutz, which also provided them with housing and food...
In Be'eri, Eli finished school and went into the army. After serving, he returned to the kibbutz. It was there, in 1995, that he met the love of his life. Her name was Lian Brisley, a beautiful 20-year-old British volunteer who had come to the kibbutz with a large group of young people from England. They fell in love instantly. After five years of an emotionally charged, on-again, off-again relationship, they married in the bride's hometown of Bristol, England. But the newlyweds decided to live in Be'eri, the town that had brought them together. There, in the following years, the couple had two daughters: Noya (in 2007) and Yael (in 2010).
After the army, Eli earned a first and then a second degree in economics from Be'er Sheva University. He achieved success on the kibbutz: first as treasurer, then as manager of the entire kibbutz economy. The girls grew up and went to school. Eli and his wife worked, traveled the world, celebrated holidays with the entire kibbutz, thought about their daughters' future education, and made plans. This was life before.
Arabic Lessons
At 6:29 a.m. on October 7, 2023, it shattered into pieces. Eli's family, like everyone else in the country, heard an alarm, followed by the sound of rockets. News of terrorists infiltrating the country spread instantly. Panic, confusion over the scale of the incident, the lack of details, and most importantly, the absence of an army, caused panic among residents of border kibbutzim and towns. The Sharabis decided not to resist or hide in a secure room. Around 10 a.m., about a dozen Hamas militants burst into their home. Lian showed the terrorists her British passport, hoping that her British citizenship would save her and her children. The militants grabbed her husband and took him away.
Eli remembered the last look his girls gave him as he was led away—their eyes were filled with terror. He only managed to shout to his wife and daughters: "No matter what they do to me, I'll come back!" For some reason, he was certain the women wouldn't be touched.
That Hamas only wanted men. But Eli would only learn all the details two years later.
As soon as the car carrying Eli and the other hostages drove away, the terrorists shot 48-year-old Lian, 13-year-old Yael, and 16-year-old Noya right there in their home. The British passport Lian showed the terrorists was of no help.
Eli's brother, Yossi Sharabi, was also taken to Gaza. He would be killed in captivity. But Eli would only learn of this two years later. The brothers were kept separate and were given no news.
As Eli Sharabi was being transported to Gaza, he heard a Hamas battalion commander say over the radio: no more Israeli women and children were to be brought into the Strip; they had no vehicles left to transport them, no places to hold them. Only men under 40 were to be taken. The rest were to be killed on sight.
He remembers how, upon arriving in Gaza, he and other Be'eri residents were led blindfolded to a mosque. Then they removed the blindfolds, forced them to strip down to their underwear, and one of the militants began interrogating them in Arabic. A specially hired man was assigned to translate the hostages' questions into Hebrew. When Eli began answering in Arabic, the terrorists hesitated. They suspected he was an Israeli counterintelligence agent. No, he wasn't. He was from a kibbutz on the southern border, where many had been friends for years with Arabs from neighboring Arab villages. His eldest daughter, Noya, was learning Arabic in school, and Eli often had to help her with her homework.
Eli Sharabi was one of the few hostages who understood what his captors were saying to each other. Sometimes, they weren't even aware that they were being understood. In his book, "Hostage," Sharabi recounts these everyday conversations: how they wanted to wipe Israel and all Jews off the face of the earth. Eli recalled that the militants would often play videos of the October 7 killings on television and proudly tell each other how many Jews each of them had killed and how many women and children they had raped..."
